Sign In

Pioneer Of Triangle Offense Dies

Mike Marasco

10 October 2018

Tex Winter, the innovative "Triangle Offense" pioneer, has died at the age of 96.

A release by Kansas State University said Winter died Wednesday in Manhattan.

Chicago Bulls president John Paxson, a former player under Winter, called him a legend and “perhaps the finest fundamental teacher in the history of our game. "He was an innovator who had high standards for how basketball should be played and approached everyday. Those of us who were lucky enough to play for him will always respect his devotion to the game of basketball. His contributions to the Bulls organization will always be remembered."

Winter published "The Triple-Post Offense" in 1962 and teamed with Jackson to use the system to great success with Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. Winter assisted Jackson on championship teams with the Bulls in 1991-93, and 1996-98, and the Lakers in 1999-2002 and 2009.

He would be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011, with over six decades of coaching under his belt. He was 451-336 as a college head coach at Marquette (1951-53), Kansas State (1954-68), Washington (1969-72), Northwestern (1975-78) and Long Beach State (1978-83). He coached the Houston Rockets in 1972-74, going 51-78.

Born Morice Fredrick Winter in 1922 near Wellington, Texas, he grew up in Huntington Park, California, and starred at Oregon State and Southern California in basketball and as a pole vaulter. He entered coaching at Kansas State in 1947 under Jack Gardner.